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Passed CompTIA Security+ last Wednesday.

Blade2.0

Member
Hi all, just wanted a little humble brag. Hopefully getting into cybersecurity soon. Been trying to get some certs up to hopefully get into the industry. Considering my history with getting degrees and shit not actually doing anything for me. I'm not gonna say it was a success till I actually land a job in the industry, lol.

But I did want to brag a wee bit considering this ain't an easy test and I passed it my first try. I also have their A+ certification and will start work on their cybersecurity Analyst and penetration testing certs next. Wish me luck!
 

cormack12

Gold Member
Time to get metasploit, kali and owasp.

Well done op. Sometimes its just nice to pass something and feel good about it.

I suggest we hook up on MSN messenger and I can share you a great tutorial called Britneyz_nudexxx_netbus1.6.jpg.zip
 

Blade2.0

Member
Time to get metasploit, kali and owasp.

Well done op. Sometimes its just nice to pass something and feel good about it.

I suggest we hook up on MSN messenger and I can share you a great tutorial called Britneyz_nudexxx_netbus1.6.jpg.zip
I kind of want that file.
 

SoloCamo

Member
Congrats, I am looking to get mine shortly as well. Just curious as you've already received your A+, have you been working in the IT industry? I've been in the industry quite a long time and not having certs / degrees is a mistake I regret as I've missed opportunities for advancement (mostly into management roles mind you) simply because of an HR checklist, not because of a lack of ability.

Experience goes a long way in IT but there comes a point where having a degree and certs to accompany it will get you a better role. I started pursuing Cyber Security a decade ago but never finished my degree, but I'm going back. A lot more competition in the market these days.
 
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Blade2.0

Member
Congrats, I am looking to get mine shortly as well. Just curious as you've already received your A+, have you been working in the IT industry? I've been in the industry quite a long time and not having certs / degrees is a mistake I regret as I've missed opportunities for advancement (mostly into management roles mind you) simply because of an HR checklist, not because of a lack of ability. Experience goes a long way in IT but there comes a point where having a degree and certs to accompany it will get you a better role.
I've only had IT experience for 3 months in the IT industry. I got my A+ in 2021. Got a help desk job at a small IT firm a friend worked at October 2021. Then the silicon supply shortage started to take effect and I was let go because for over two weeks we had nothing to do. Boss was getting onto me for not doing anything and I pulled up our help desk and showed him how we've literally completed everything we had to do. So in December got let go before Christmas. Got a job at a friend's bank in January 2022 and had planned to move into IT after a year because they said they'd let me transfer after a year. Waited a year, put in for a transfer and they reneged on the transfer offer because our branch had become understaffed, we were down to only 4 full time people while when i started we had 7. went through 4 managers before i quit in july of last year. Did a cyber security bootcamp until january of this year, then studied till now. Ex in china had her sister die in march from cancer (we are still close) and then a week later we had to put down the cat we had together while i was in china and i watched over the phone on video chat. so took like a week off while i should have been studying. Finally took the test April 17th and passed it.

So yea, hopefully someone will give me a shot in this fucking industry because I'm tired of trying hard for jack fucking shit.
 
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StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Sounds good.

Around 20 years ago, my good buddy was tired of the typical office grind and wanted to do ecom kind of stuff (still office), but different. Back then it was different as I dont think universities even did dedicated internet/ecom kind of stuff (and definitely not when we both did business together in university in the 90s). So he worked and did some kind of internet course thing after dinner and got a certification in whatever it was. That helped him land a job later more to his liking. I remember him saying it wasnt even expensive. It was like $1,500 for 2-3 months of night class.
 

SoloCamo

Member
I've only had IT experience for 3 months in the IT industry. I got my A+ in 2021. Got a help desk job at a small IT firm a friend worked at October 2021. Then the silicon supply shortage started to take effect and I was let go because for over two weeks we had nothing to do. Boss was getting onto me for not doing anything and I pulled up our help desk and showed him how we've literally completed everything we had to do. So in December got let go before Christmas. Got a job at a friend's bank in January 2022 and had planned to move into IT after a year because they said they'd let me transfer after a year. Waited a year, put in for a transfer and they reneged on the transfer offer because our branch had become understaffed, we were down to only 4 full time people while when i started we had 7. went through 4 managers before i quit in july of last year. Did a cyber security bootcamp until january of this year, then studied till now. Ex in china had her sister die in march from cancer (we are still close) and then a week later we had to put down the cat we had together while i was in china and i watched over the phone on video chat. so took like a week off while i should have been studying. Finally took the test April 17th and passed it.

So yea, hopefully someone will give me a shot in this fucking industry because I'm tired of trying hard for jack fucking shit.

Sorry to hear about all the trouble, not to dissuade you but the industry is rough right now so keep a valid pay check going with whatever work you can get in the meantime. A lot of us that have been in the industry a while have know how quickly IT can be replaced so don't be disheartened, it's just the reality. Get as much as you can on paper and you are in a better position, and try to meet people. I'm horrible at networking (not the IT networking, but meeting people) but it's really one of the best things you can do.

I was a loyal employee for years in a company with a small IT team that eventually grew into a rather large MSP handling facilities all over the state. I worked countless hours and overnights, often not getting paid for it, just to get the job done. Unbeknownst to me and most of my veteran co workers, we were all being replaced with contractors because they simply cost less to employ. The company was wiling to throw away all that knowledge and experience because they figured two or three low skilled workers would make up for it. Hint, it didn't, but they didn't care because their wallets got fatter.

Long story short, as much as we all hate working a helpdesk, try to sneak into one again if you can - and to make it easier, get certs focused on "customer service" outside of IT. I got picked up by a very large company while I was young and working at a grocery store... I applied and because I was a 'customer service leader' I literally got a call for an interview six hours later.
 
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WoodyStare

Member
Congrats. I just finished the Google Cybersecurity Certificate myself a few weeks ago and I’m currently studying for the CompTIA Security+. Hoping it goes smoothly on my first try too.
 

rackham

Banned
How impossible is it for someone who has a felony and currently works IT with no certs to get comptia certifications for networking and security and get a more legitimate job with it? Currently just doing IT support and computer repair. I have been doing this for over 5 years.
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
I have worked in IT for ten years. I just got my Network+ in January. I’ve got a bunch of Fortinet certs.

I’d recommend working a couple years in help desk. I’ve seen what it’s like for some people wanting to jump in to security and make six figures. It doesn’t happen that way. Experience gets you the dream job down the road. The certs tend you get your resume looked at.

I’m glad you passed. It’s kinda brutal and I’m not a security guy. My biggest thing with dudes who work security is their lack of understanding about everything else. For me, the security guy needs to know what I’m talking about. I’ve asked my boss and people with such backgrounds and they say the same thing.

I knew a college grad who started off as an intern and he worked help desk for 5 years before landing an actual cyber security job.
How impossible is it for someone who has a felony and currently works IT with no certs to get comptia certifications for networking and security and get a more legitimate job with it? Currently just doing IT support and computer repair. I have been doing this for over 5 years.
keep working at your job and learn everything there is about cyber security. You need that job to find another job. Also, make a lab at home to show off what you know.

Look up Kevin Mitnick for inspiration.

There are some free courses on YouTube. Watch Professor Messer’s free courses.
 
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SoloCamo

Member
I have worked in IT for ten years. I just got my Network+ in January. I’ve got a bunch of Fortinet certs.

I’d recommend working a couple years in help desk. I’ve seen what it’s like for some people wanting to jump in to security and make six figures. It doesn’t happen that way. Experience gets you the dream job down the road. The certs tend you get your resume looked at.

I’m glad you passed. It’s kinda brutal and I’m not a security guy. My biggest thing with dudes who work security is their lack of understanding about everything else. For me, the security guy needs to know what I’m talking about. I’ve asked my boss and people with such backgrounds and they say the same thing.

I knew a college grad who started off as an intern and he worked help desk for 5 years before landing an actual cyber security job.

keep working at your job and learn everything there is about cyber security. You need that job to find another job. Also, make a lab at home to show off what you know.

Look up Kevin Mitnick for inspiration.

There are some free courses on YouTube. Watch Professor Messer’s free courses.

Completely agree here. I've been in it over 10 years. Professor Messer is great, but be prepared for his monotone style. Good info regardless.

How impossible is it for someone who has a felony and currently works IT with no certs to get comptia certifications for networking and security and get a more legitimate job with it? Currently just doing IT support and computer repair. I have been doing this for over 5 years.

Let your skills and being 'reformed' do the talking. I've known quite a few felons that went into IT successfully.
 
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StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
I have worked in IT for ten years. I just got my Network+ in January. I’ve got a bunch of Fortinet certs.

I’d recommend working a couple years in help desk. I’ve seen what it’s like for some people wanting to jump in to security and make six figures. It doesn’t happen that way. Experience gets you the dream job down the road. The certs tend you get your resume looked at.
I dont work in IT, but career paths in any sector have a pathway of some kind.

In finance, nobody jumps to being a Sr Finance Manager or Accountant right away. No company is going to trust a newbie with important stuff. So the grind is a junior analyst or accounting assistant or whatever. Then mid tier roles. Then senior roles, then director, then VP.

By the sounds of it, doing IT security isn't the kind of role someone immediately jumps into without experience.
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
I dont work in IT, but career paths in any sector have a pathway of some kind.

In finance, nobody jumps to being a Sr Finance Manager or Accountant right away. No company is going to trust a newbie with important stuff. So the grind is a junior analyst or accounting assistant or whatever. Then mid tier roles. Then senior roles, then director, then VP.

By the sounds of it, doing IT security isn't the kind of role someone immediately jumps into without experience.
A lot of growth in IT comes with experience. Work 5-6 years in help desk and you could leave for a mid tier or even admin position if you’re lucky. A lot of recruiters will look at what’s available and compare your resume with who worked the longest. I’ve had interviews and positions open up where all the recruiter talked about was the number of years I’ve done X, Y or Z.

The thing with IT Security is that it’s so important. Just recently a MSP got sued by a client of theirs. The threat actor got into the client’s Acronis backups, deleted them, and then released ransomware onto their network. The law firm was screwed and Acronis said it wasn’t their fault. It was the MSP’s because they managed everything. Now the MSP is being sued for millions of dollars. This kind of thing is what board members and IT Directors fear.

 

Chittagong

Gold Member
Well done OP! I don’t know much of the space, but my brother just did CompTIA Security+ and it’s supposedly both hard and essential in his plans to get a job.

He really seems to love studying. He first got a license to fly a jet, and then realised that he doesn’t want to work with people in a cockpit. So he pivoted to cyber security.

Here is his list, he is now at TCM.

- Cisco - CCNA
- Cisco - Ethical Hacker
- CompTIA - Security+
- CompTIA - CySA+
- CompTIA - PenTest+
- HackTheBox - CPTS
- TCM Security - PNPT
- Offensive Security - OSCP
- Offensive Security - OSCE3 (OSEP, OSWE, OSED)
- Michael Bazzell - OSIP (OSINT Professional)
- Microsoft - 365 Fundamentals
- Amazon - AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
- Bachelor degree in Engineering (ICT)
 
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Kar

Member
Isn't it a foundational cert?
Congrats, but it's not nearly enough.
If you're into red team stuff, OSCP cert will land you a job.
 

Puscifer

Member
Hi all, just wanted a little humble brag. Hopefully getting into cybersecurity soon. Been trying to get some certs up to hopefully get into the industry. Considering my history with getting degrees and shit not actually doing anything for me. I'm not gonna say it was a success till I actually land a job in the industry, lol.

But I did want to brag a wee bit considering this ain't an easy test and I passed it my first try. I also have their A+ certification and will start work on their cybersecurity Analyst and penetration testing certs next. Wish me luck!
You have a Sec+ congrats! I'll give you a big pointer to fast forward your career. Go to indeed and linkedin, look for Security+ and Confidental or Secret Clearance.

These are government IT jobs that are glorified help desk positions with BIG titles that don't match what you're doing (IE: information assurance analyst for example, L1 soc analyst, likely through a contractor, these are ALL help desk) because you need a Sec+ for any gov IT job.

I was labeled a system administrator and was supposedly going to be managing all kinds of systems and crap and in reality I was glorified geek squad with downtime out the ass but I asked a ton of questions and stuck my nose into everything.

I brought a laptop and used all the free time to build my career up with stuff like Udemy and access to provided training courses, to get me up to speed and 3 years later I'm an IT project manager, this 100% should NOT have happened that rapidly.

If you're scared of a secret investigation an easy way to tell that you most likely will pass a secret investigation is to get TSA pre check, that's the same as a level 1 non cleared position background, upping it to level 3 just means they speak to people in person vs letters but if you can get a L1 or Pre Check, short of you lying on your SF86 you're set.


Enjoy your new career in IT and I hope this helps you some, when I transitioned out of telecom my Sec+ helped me greatly with the path forward.

Isn't it a foundational cert?
Congrats, but it's not nearly enough.
If you're into red team stuff, OSCP cert will land you a job.
Yeah, but use it right and it's a great entry into federal jobs. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I'm not whining about my salary and benefits either. It's a fast track to six figures if you play your cards right and don't stop.
 
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Cyberpunkd

Member
I kind of want that file.
Ray Romano No GIF by One Day At A Time
 

Yerd

Member
Well done.

I took that class about 15 years ago. Which was just some b***** lady reading the book to the class. I fucking hated it. I can't learn that way. So, I was left to my own devices to try and learn it on my own. Being completely unable to self motivate, that failed. Never took the test, wasted the money on the class. Ended up just exiting the IT world completely.
 

Blade2.0

Member
Well done.

I took that class about 15 years ago. Which was just some b***** lady reading the book to the class. I fucking hated it. I can't learn that way. So, I was left to my own devices to try and learn it on my own. Being completely unable to self motivate, that failed. Never took the test, wasted the money on the class. Ended up just exiting the IT world completely.
that sucks man, sorry to hear it.
 
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